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Modern Portrait Paintings

MODERN STYLE

The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.

Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.

The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.

Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.

Find a collection of modern paintings, sculptures, prints and other fine art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Modern
Color:  Purple
"Kal-El Leaves Krypton" Colorful Abstract Modern Pop Art Superman Portrait
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful abstract modern pop art painting by Texas artist Robert Sandman. The title refers to when Jor-El and Lara watch as their son Kal-El, better kno...
Category

1980s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"The Vision" Modern Blue, Red, and Yellow Abstract Geometric Portrait Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Blue, red, and yellow abstract modern portrait painting by Texas artist Robert Sandman. The work features a well dressed man with part of his face obscu...
Category

1980s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

JEAN MARC (1949-2019) 20th CENTURY FRENCH MODERNIST PAINTING - PORTRAIT OF FACE
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Portrait" by Jean Marc (French 1949-2019) watercolour on artist paper painting: 12.5 x 9.5 inches provenance: private collection, South of France Superb original painting by th...
Category

20th Century Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Camilla
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a rare, early original oil painting, "Camilla", by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010) McIntosh was extremely prolific and exhibited throughout his lifetime, inclu...
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

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Located in New York, NY
Timothee (Tymo) Pierre, "Indian African Face Woman", Signed Abstract/ Figurative Portrait Painting, Acrylic Paint on Cardboard, 13.50 x 10.50, Late 20th ...
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1980s Modern Portrait Paintings

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Dimitri Likissas - Eye Two
Located in Greenwich, CT
Series: Pop Oil Enamel Paint on Canvas I consider each colored dot to be like a person. You and me and everyone. Together we all make up that image shown. You will notice that in my...
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2010s Modern Portrait Paintings

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"Don't Cry Long" Abstracted and Distorted Self-Portrait, One Crying Eye
Located in Detroit, MI
"Don't Cry Long" is a self-portrait of the artist and an unusual one at that in which the artist portrays herself shedding tears. Perhaps it is an expression of some grief experienced by Ms. Woodlock, but it also admonishes her to not "Cry Long" while at the same time poking fun because of her elongated face and the one lone "long" tear tracing a pattern down her face. In addition to self-portraits, Ethelyn painted commissioned portraits. In this painting her head is cocked and her famous bangs hang down her forehead. Compare two self-portraits, “Up From Under”, and “M’Eyes" to "Don't Cry Long." The major differences are the close facial view and the brilliant blood red paint that fills the entire canvas. This painting is included in the book, "Dreams Have Wings: An Artist's Journey into Magic and Mystery" printed in the United States, 1985. She describes "Don't Cry Long" as showing how funny looking we are, if we cry too long. Ethelyn Woodlock...
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Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

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Harlem Renaissance Signed Ellis Original Abstract Portrait Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract painting. Oil on board, circa 1940. Signed. Image size 22L x 30H. Housed in a period modern frame.
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

America impressionist portrait young boy 1937 Modern Figurative Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
A fantastic modern portrait of a young boy. This work is signed what appears to be Paul Sellers and dated 1937, but we have not found information on the artist. The work dated 1936...
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1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

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Rare Early Antique American School Fauvist Woman Portrait Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist portrait oil painting. Oil on canvas, lain to board. Framed. Very finely painted and a rare fauvist palette. No signature found.
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1920s Modern Portrait Paintings

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Canvas, Oil

Antique American School Signed Framed Modernist "Massage" Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American signed interior scene oil painting. Oil on canvasboard. Signed. Framed. Image size, 14L x 11H.
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Crying Clown Portrait in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Crying Clown Portrait in Oil on Canvas Portrait of a sad clown by San Francisco artist John Peers (American, 1922-2009). This portrait is closely fra...
Category

1970s Modern Portrait Paintings

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Abstract Cactus, Sculptured Totem 3D Shapes in Green, Purple, Pink on Beige
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Abstract Cactus" is an acrylic painting from Ryan Rivadeneyra's series of imagined modernist sculptures. In this series, Rivadeneyra explores the possibilities of colorful sculptura...
Category

2010s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel, Ink, Sumi Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Antique American Modernist Nude Artist Studio Surreal Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school surreal composition painting. Oil on board, circa 1950. Unsigned. Image size, 8L x 12H. Housed in a period modern frame.
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Roy Turner Durant British Listed Artist Portrait Head 20th Century Minimalist
By Roy Turner Durrant
Located in Norfolk, GB
This portrait has a naïve and gentle charm to it. To my eye it looks like a woman but it could equally be any gender or age. Perhaps this is the beauty of Turner Durrant's abstraction. The materiality is more distinct when you see the piece in the flesh. There is something endearing about being able to see the edges of the paper, torn almost in haste as if the artist just had to get the image down. Maybe it was painted on the spot or an image from the artist's imagination. Whichever, the use of minimal line and a reduced palette adds to the simplicity and thus free nature of the painting. Roy Turner Durrant Untitled (Head) Medium: Watercolour on paper Signed bottom right 1977 Image size: 31 x 26 cm - Frame size: 50.5 x 44 cm Roy Turner Durrant (1925 - 1998) A Modern British artist, Roy Turner Durrant was born in Suffolk, England in 1925. His career was long and distinguished, culminating with work in major public galleries in the UK and internationally. After the war he secured a place at Camberwell College of Arts where he was taught by amongst others by Edward Ardizzone Michael Rothenstein Keith Vaughan and John Buckland Wright and was a contemporary of Theodore Mendez. Whilst at Camberwell he was already exhibiting his paintings in London galleries. His work moved from early landscape and architectural interest to abstraction but with a great variety of style and technique. A member of the New English Art Club, from the late 1940s he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and in numerous commercial galleries in London. From the 1950s, his early figurative style began to change, becoming more abstract. He said of his own work in 1951 that his abstract imagery were 'by-products of an inquisition primarily concerned not with what the eye sees but with what the intellect and emotion experience’. In 1963 he moved to Cambridge to take up the post of Art Gallery Manager at Heffers at the time a well known local artists' materials and book sellers...
Category

1970s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Subtle Pastel Curves, Organic Mid-Century Shapes Toned Down Colors, Transparency
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Subtle Pastel Curves" is a hand-painted acrylic painting on high-quality 300g paper by artist Ryan Rivadeneyra. These painting, influenced by modernist artists of the 50's, 60's, a...
Category

2010s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel, Ink, Sumi Ink, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Modern portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern portrait paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add portrait paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Kevin Foote, Alkis Matheos, Robert Chapman, and Albert Decaris. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Modern portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $800,000, while the average work sells for $2,250.

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